What did you want this year
… and get?
Too much.
As I was wrapping up my work email for the holiday break yesterday, thumbing through my last few messages, a long thank you note rolled in from the president of a company with which my team does a significant amount of business.
It concluded with a bit of an explanation:
“We had thought about sending out our usual gift baskets this year,” he wrote, “ but with the logistics of everyone working from home we decided not to do that.”
”Instead,” he continued, “we have made a large donation to the food bank in the names of all our clients.”
I remember in past years when over the last week before the Christmas break a few big boxes of chocolates or candies would appear and everyone would pick away at them as the last few days wound down to vacation. As much as I know the work I do is appreciated by some, the mundane and behind-the-scenes nature of being a technology professional means a lot of it also goes unnoticed. It’s nice to be appreciated, and a bix box of treats definitely helps.
It’s a weird thing to miss, but then again there a lot of things missing these days, huh?
I hit the reply button and typed something back, thanking him and wishing him a Merry Christmas.
We miss the sweets, but most of us are doing the kind of work we do to make the world a more interesting place, not for the Christmas baskets.
I got too much of the things I thought I wanted this past year, but seeing a simple little gesture like that, as basic and seemling obvious as it is reminded me that what I really wanted this year was for the world to be a little gentler, more caring, and generous to each other.
So, I guess I got a little of that, at least.
Thirty one topics. Thirty one posts. Not exactly a list… but close. In December I like to look back on the year that was. My daily posts in December-ish are themed-ish and may contain spoilers set against the backdrop of some year-end-ish personal exposition.